Marching percussion

Marching percussion instruments are specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier or rack) worn by the drummer. The drums are designed and tuned for maximum articulation and projection of sound, as marching activities are almost always outdoors or in large interior spaces. Articulation is paramount to producing a "clean" sound from all the drummers in the line. These instruments are used by marching bands, drum and bugle corps, indoor percussion ensembles, and pipe bands.

Snare drums

Marching snare drums are deeper than ones normally used for orchestral or drum kit purposes. This gives the drum the big, full sound necessary for outdoor use. They can be 13 or 14 inches in diameter. Many snare drums utilize a metal suspension ring on the top (or batter) side of the drum, allowing for extremely tight tuning of kevlar heads without damaging the shell. The bottom (or resonant) side of the drum has a tightly tuned head and plastic snare wires, which are often taped to the head to limit their movement and make the sound "drier". For outdoor use, a piece of curved plastic is typically attached to the back of the bottom hoop to help project the sound forward to the audience. Snare lines vary in size from as few as 2 or 3 drummers in small high school marching bands to as many as 12 or more in very large college marching bands. Lines of 5–7 are common in high school marching bands; 7–9 is most common in drum corps and college marching bands.

Snare drums used in pipe bands are similar in construction to standard marching snare drums, but have an additional set of snares underneath the top head, which results in a crisper, drier sound. Some drum corps have experimented with pipe band snare drums both in place of standard marching snare drums and as a special effect used only during a segment of the show.

Tenor drums

Modern marching bands and drum corps use multi-tenors, which consist of several single-headed tom-toms played by a single drummer. A full-size set of tenors consists of 10, 12, 13, and 14 inch toms arranged in an arc, often with an additional one or two smaller (6 or 8 inch) toms called gock or spock drums in the center of the arc. Any set of multi-tenors based on the four-drum configuration may be called quads despite the fact that there may be a total of five or six drums counting the gock drums. Sets with one gock drum are called quints, and sets with two gock drums are called hexes or sexes.

The open bottoms of the shells are beveled to project the sound of the drum forward. Tenors can be quite heavy – around 40–50 pounds for a full-size set with carrier – but smaller, lighter tenor sets exist for smaller players (typically high school lines).

Multi-tenors are typically played with mallets headed with a plastic disc with rounded edges. Felt mallets, drum sticks, drum brushes, and other implements are occasionally used to achieve different timbres

Lines of as few as just 1 or 2 tenor drummers are common in high schools, and many large college marching bands have 6 or more. Most drum corps have 4 or 5.

Modern multi-tenors evolved from horizontally mounted dual single-headed bass drums first used by the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps in the late 1960s. Early multi-tenors had shells with a flat bottom. These drums sounded a lot like timpani, so they were called timp-toms. As the drums got smaller, more drums were added. The largest sets of multi-tenors had 7 drums and were carried by the 1977 Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps tenor line.

Pipe bands and traditional marching bands and drum corps use single tenors, which are double-headed drums much like snare drums without snares. Some show bands such as those at historically black colleges and universities use both single tenors and multi-tenors.

Bass drums

Bass drums used by modern ensembles come in a variety of sizes, typically in 2-inch increments from 16 to 32 inches. Unlike tenors and snares, bass drums are mounted vertically and played on both heads. Each drummer plays and carries one drum, and a line is created by having several people carry different-sized drums. Such drums are called tonal bass drums. Despite the moniker, they are not tuned to definite pitches; they are just tuned so each drum has a distinguishable tone and all the drums have different pitches. The lowest drum in a line, however, is often tuned to have a low "thump" like a traditional bass drum rather than a tone. Many groups try to use the largest size bass drum that is comfortable to carry as the bottom bass drum.

Unlike snare and tenor players, each bass drummer only plays one segment of the entire bass drum part. This is known as a split part. A unison is a note all the bass drummers play together. Lines can vary in size from as few as 3 players in small high schools to as many as 9 in very large college marching bands. A line of 5 or 6 is most common.

Pipe bands and some traditional groups use a single bass drummer, who typically carries the pulse of the group. The drums used by these groups are usually thinner and larger than tonal bass drums to produce a "thump" rather than a tone. Some traditional groups, however, have adopted tonal bass drums.

Cymbals

Cymbals are played just as orchestral clash cymbals – each player carries two cymbals of identical size and clashes them together, in addition to other sound effects. Cymbal players often perform visuals – movements that are eye-pleasing and boost the general effect of the group. There is generally a 1-to-1 or 1-to-2 ratio of cymbal players to snares, as snare drummers often play on the cymbals at some point during the performance. The number of cymbal players can vary according to their use. Cymbal parts are often split in the same manner as bass drum parts – each cymbalist plays one component of a larger part. Some drum corps (or less often, marching bands) do not have marching cymbal players at all since a greater variety of cymbals can be used in the stationary pit or front ensemble.

Mallet instruments

Marching mallet percussion instruments, such as glockenspiels and xylophones, are not typically used except for parades, as the front ensemble plays on full-size orchestral mallet instruments. However, they were common before band and drum corps circuits allowed large percussion instruments to be grounded.

Many traditional groups still use marching mallet percussion instruments, as these groups often lack a front ensemble.

Timpani

Marching timpani are rarely used today, but were commonly used before percussion instruments could be grounded. In a timpani line, each player carries one drum, which is equipped with a hand crank for tuning.

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